The Time of Legends
by sidajack
Summary: Team Rocket got smart? Ash has been captured! What do you do when your friend needs the help of legends? This story is now being redone. The chapters are shorter but the updates will be quicker. I say now I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING sorry for the delayed update
1. Chapter 1

Today our heroes find themselves once again lost in a forest without any real idea of how to get where they are going. In other words, they're lost.

"Oh man," Ash said, "We're lost again!?"

"Yep, sure looks that way to me." Brock said.

"Ash, must you always lead us in the wrong direction?" Misty said sadly, "I mean, why do we all have to suffer from your lousy sense of direction?" she shrugged.

Ash started to get mad. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked raising his voice.

"No Ash, I'm not trying to tell you anything, I'm coming right out and saying it! Stop leading us down the wrong path!" Misty shouted.

"Well I'm sorry," Ash replied, "but I want to use the road less traveled."

"Ash, you do know that that was just a metaphor, right?" asked Brock.

"What's a metaphor?" asked Ash in return. Misty then went and banged her head on a tree while Brock put his head in his hands. "Did I say something wrong?" asked Ash and even pikachu looked slightly bemused.

"Ash. Bed. Now!" Misty exclaimed trying to stifle a giggle.

"But Misty, we're not even ready to set up camp and there's still hours of daylight left!" Ash complained.

"Well it is a good place to stop today." Brock countered.

"Humph." Ash said as he went off to find firewood.

"Your friend is very stubborn." commented an old voice from behind them.

"That's for sure." Misty agreed, "Wait a minute," she said after a moment, "Who're you?!"

"I am called many things, but among humans I am known as Bartholomew. You may call me Barty for as long as we know each other." Barty said slowly and deliberately.

Brock turned around to face the elder. "What is one as old as you doing this deep in the forest?" he asked.

"I have come to invite you all over for tea at my house." Barty said.

"That sounds great!" Misty exclaimed. "Thank you sir."

"Find your friend and follow me." said Barty as he left.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe it, pikachu." Ash complained to the yellow electric mouse sitting on his shoulder. "Why do we have to se up camp now? We'll never reach Viridian City at this rate, and how come Misty always blames me when we get lost?" At that statement, pikachu fell off of Ash's shoulder laughing. "What's so funny, pikachu?" asked Ash as he stared at pikachu on the ground. Pikachu laughed for a long moment before Ash asked, "Are you okay now?" to his friend who nodded, "Good, then lets…"

"Ash! ASH!" came a shout from the direction that they had just come from.

"That sounded like Misty." Ash's voice was full of concern. "What could have happened?" He took off at a run, "C'mon pikachu!" he held out his arm for the pokemon to climb on his shoulder. They soon reached the clearing that they had left minutes ago. "Where's the fire!?" he shouted as he rushed in, then promptly tripped over a root and fell flat on his face.

"A ha aha ha hah ha!" came the laughter of two people. Ash looked up and saw a wrinkled hand reaching down to help him up.

"Thanks." Ash said as he took the hand. But as he first made contact, Ash suddenly flinched. That small movement went unnoticed by Brock, Misty, and even Ash himself but did not escape the hawk-like eyes of Barty or the extraordinary senses of pikachu.

"I've found him at last." Barty whispered.

Misty turned, "Did you say something?" she asked.

"No, nothing at all. Now if I remember correctly, we were going to go to my house for tea." Barty said with a smile. "And while you're there, why not stay a while?"

Brock replied, "That sounds like fun, but we can't stay too long if we are going to get to Viridian City soon."

"You're not far at all from the city, just a full day's walk or so and you'll be there." Barty said.

"Wow!" Misty exclaimed. "We're closer than we thought. I guess we could stay for a day or two."

"But Misty!" Ash complained, "If we're so close, then why don't we just continue on the way we were going? The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get my gym battle." Ash's eyes burned up as his fighting spirit awakened. Misty dumped a bucket of water on Ash's head, putting out the flames in his eyes

"Now if we can get going." She said.

"Alright." Ash said dejectedly. He turned and stomped off in the wrong direction.

"Other way!" Bartholomew called out. Ash's face glowed bright red as he turned around and stomped the other way. "And quite impatient too, oh well, he'll have to do."

"Huh?" Brock asked Barty, but the old man was already well on his way.

"Are you young'uns coming?" Barty shouted back. Brock and Misty looked at each other then ran to catch up.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh what are we going to tell the Boss?!" Jessie wailed.

"What do you mean?" asked James.

"Its time for our monthly report!" Jessie shouted.

"But we have nothing to tell him." meowth said.

"Exactly! How stupid can you two get?"

James slapped his fist into his hands. "I get it!" he exclaimed.

"You do?" asked Jessie.

"Well then enlighten the rest of us." meowth snapped.

"Okay. Jessie is afraid that the Boss will be really mad at us if we report that we have nothing to report." James explained.

"I see, so all we have to do is catch something to give to the Boss!" said meowth as it finally caught on.

"That's easier said than done." Jessie said. "I mean… UMF!" her words were smothered as both James and meowth put their hands over her mouth. James pointed.

"We saw the twerps going in that direction following an old man." he explained.

"So be quiet." meowth added.

Jessie tore her face away from their hands. "Then come on!" she said as she left to stalk the kids.

"This could be our lucky break!" they all whispered together as they tip-toed off.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks for having us over Barty." Misty said.

"You are most certainly welcome." Barty replied.

"The tea is delicious!" Brock exclaimed. "What's it made of?" he asked.

Barty smiled, "Sorry, that's a trade secret."

Brock started to smile as well when he heard a tapping under the table. "Ash!" he cried. "Are you really that impatient to get going?" he asked.

"I'm sorry! I just can't stand being in one place for very long." Ash tried to explain.

"Ash please just calm down. We know that you want to get moving, but it will be dark soon. It would just be easier to go in the morning." Misty tried to compromise, but Ash wasn't having any of it.

"No!" he shouted. "That's just something about this place, something that puts me on edge." Ash finally mellowed out.

"And raises your temper through the roof?" Misty said jokingly. Ash gave a weary nod.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." offered Barty.

"Please, anything you can do to help would be great." Brock gave his permission.

Ash's temper flared again. He started to speak but Barty was too quick. He called out his oddish and motioned for Misty to get out of the way. When she was out of range, Barty called out a command. "Oddish, sleep powder." the little plant-like pokemon let loose a fine dust. Ash breathed it in as he was drawing breath to speak. Immediately he felt drowsy. The world started to spin and he fell. Misty rushed up to catch him and the last thing that Ash remembered was Brock shouting at Barty.

* * *

"What have you done?" Brock shouted.

"I just helped him to relax." Barty explained innocently. Brock couldn't argue for he had indeed done just that.

"Brock!" Misty whispered, "He's fast asleep."

"There we go then. Put him on my bed and come back out here, there's something I wish to discuss with you." Barty told her. Misty hoisted Ash up and carried him out of the room. When she came back in, Brock and Barty had already started. "Now I need to tell you something, about Ash." Barty began.


	5. Chapter 5

"Did you see that?" asked James.

"I saw it too." said meowth.

"I don't believe it. His own friends took him out like that." Jessie said then slapped the other two. "Pull yourselves together. This is a golden opportunity!" she said.

"Yeah, without the twerp to get in our way, his pokemon will be easy pickings!" meowth realized.

"Haven't we tried this before?" asked James. "You know, when the he was beaten up by the primeape?"

"Oh that was just because we were beaten up by that same primeape." Jessie dismissed it.

"True but that was after the twerp pushed us into that hole we dug to trap him." meowth added.

James nodded, "True, true, so how can we actually know that he is out of the picture?"

They all sighed. "Oh well, all this thinking is giving me a headache, so lets just do what we do best." meowth stated.

"And what's that?" Jessie inquired.

"Just barge in not thinking." meowth answered.

"Sounds good to me!" Jessie and James both replied with enthusiasm.

"Let's go!" shouted all three.


	6. Chapter 6

"So now what's so important that you had to knock Ash out to tell us?" Misty demanded.

"I'm not exactly sure." Barty started, "But I know that it is about Ash's destiny."

"His destiny?" Brock asked.

"The great future he has and the awesome power that runs through his veins." Barty explained. "I noticed it when I first found him." he stated.

Misty calmed down. "Okay, but what does that mean? What awesome power?" she asked.

Barty chuckled. "I'm afraid that I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning." he started to drift away into a memory of a distant past. "When I was just a lad, around Ash's age, I loved exploring. I wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up. Hah!" he laughed, "But that never happened."

"What changed your mind sir?" Brock asked.

"I found a temple of ancient and terrible power." He shuddered. "The memory of that place burned into my mind. A carving stood above the door. A message in the Ancient Tongue." he paused for breath.

"What did the message say?" asked Misty, being drawn in despite herself.

"It said 'After an age of decay, the boy will be born/ With a name grey as dust he will start up the storm/ The day of destruction will then come to pass/ As told by the prophets of ages long past/ With pokemon friends and Ho-oh the wise/ The boy he will come, the boy he will rise/ And goodness will come from the boy with that name/ Unless he does fall into evil's great game/ If this does happen, the end he shall bring/ So all friends unite and stand behind three/ A rival, a friend, and one enemy/ Only then may the world be saved/ And evil's great plan shall then be dismayed/ So all of ye people awaiting out there/ Protect him all you and let him beware'." Barty finished with a sigh and slumped down as if exhausted. Complete silence greeted his speech.

"Oh my goodness." Misty whispered in shock, "You have got to be kidding me." she looked pleadingly at Barty to tell her that this was all a great joke and that there was no such temple, but Barty only shook his head.

"That prophesy," Brock hesitated upon completing his question, "it's about Ash?" he asked.

"Aye," Barty replied, "I have yet to come across another who comes anywhere close to fitting the description in the prophesy."

Misty looked at Ash who was still sleeping peacefully. "How can this be? How cam you be sure?!" she asked starting to get anxious. "It could be anyone, Ash has already saved the world so many times, don't make him do it again!"

"Don't worry Misty, I'm sure you're right, it's probably somebody else." He said trying to convince himself as much as Misty, "It has to be."

"I'm sorry, but nobody else fits the description. It mentions Ho-oh! No one but Ash has even caught a glimpse of Ho-oh since the great fire, but Ash watched him fly over the rainbow! Do you realize the significance of this?" Barty asked getting excited.

Pikachu had been thinking of the prophesy ever since he heard it but now he paused. "Pika-Pi!" he shouted his eyes widening in alarm.

Misty jumped, "What is it?" she asked. Pikachu pointed at the door.

Brock went over to listen. He jumped back, "Everybody run for cover!" he shouted and everybody raced to the other side of the room just in time because moments later, the door was smashed in by a giant mechanical foot.

"Well look at what we have here." Jessie sneered, "Two sniveling twerps, a little old man, and one sleeping baby. How sweet." she said noticing Ash. "Not for long though! Meowth!" she ordered.

"My pleasure Jess." meowth said as he controlled the machine's arm to throw Ash across the room and away from the other twerps. He held the foot over Ash's head. "Now hand over pikachu or the twerp gets it!" he commanded.

Pikachu looked uncertain for a moment then walked boldly up to the machine's foot just as it was coming down. "Pikachuuuuuuuu!" it cried and let loose a spectacular electric storm focused on Ash. The electrical current did its job and jolted Ash awake just in time for him to look up and roll away from under the foot.

All three members of Team Rocket felt their machine crash down onto the empty floor unbalancing them enough to tip over. They fell with a lot of banging and yelling. When they got the hatch open, they were met with an angry Ash and a very mad pikachu. "There might not be much use in saying this now, but RUN!" James yelled and they all bolted for the door.

"Pikachu, would you do the honors?" Ash asked.

"Pi-pickachu." pikachu replied and shocked them into the sky.

"It was bound to happen." meowth said.

"But why today?" cried Jessie.

"Don't know, but…" James replied and all three of them cried, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" as they flew into the distance.


	7. Chapter 7

"Looks like they flew pretty far this time." Ash commented.

"Sure does." Brock agreed.

Ash turned. "Here it comes." thought Misty, but Ash only continued turning until he faced Barty.

He bowed, "Thank you for helping me to calm down." he said.

Barty scratched his head. "Well I sure wasn't expecting that." he replied.

Ash's friends looked just as puzzled, surprised by the way Ash handled himself. "I suppose that we'd better get going." Brock said.

"Are you sure?" asked Barty, "It's almost dark." he stated looking at the sky.

"I'm pretty sure that if Ash stays still any longer, he won't be able to take it." Brock said with a small chuckle. "It's not his fault, that's just the way he is."

"Very well." Barty replied, "Just remember what I told you, Protect him!" he called as they got farther away. They all turned back to wave and disappeared into the sunset.

"Good luck." Barty whispered with an evil grin, "We'll meet again soon."


	8. Chapter 8

"Time to face the music." James gulped as meowth dialed the phone very slowly.

It rang for only a few moments until a face appeared on the screen. "What is it?" barked Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket.

"S-s-ir! We have called to submit our monthly report." Jessie stammered.

"Well?" asked Giovanni, "Out with it."

"We have been pursuing a certain pikachu and it's trainer for quite some time now and we…" James started.

"Have you or have you not any pokemon for me?!" Giovanni was starting to lose his patience.

"Ah, well… no." James finally said.

Giovanni finally lost it. "Month after month it's the same thing! Nothing, nothing, and nothing. Well that's it! You three buffoon's are FIRED!" he yelled and hung up.

The ring tone filled their ears. "Fired?" asked Jessie. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it." meowth stated even though he was just as dumbfounded as she was.

"It's all because we couldn't capture that pikachu." James added to the silence and they all nodded in agreement.


	9. Chapter 9

"What?!" screamed Misty. "We're lost already!?! Ash, we just left Barty's! This is your entire fault. I knew that we should have gone right."

"But Misty, it was you who insisted that we go left when I said to go right. So really the fault is not mine, this time." Ash pointed out.

"No, I clearly remember telling you guys to go right but you insisted that we go left."

"No, you said left." Ash said starting to get mad.

"No, I said right." Misty retorted.

"Left."

"Right."  
"Left!"

"Right!"

"Cut it out you two. Our situation's not going to get any better with you two arguing like that." said Brock trying to be the peacemaker once again.

"Humph. Like our situation's going to get better even if we do stop arguing about who got us lost." Misty said.

"Pikachu," Ash asked the yellow electric mouse sitting on his shoulder, "who do you think is right?"

"P-pika?" pikachu replied uncertainly then promptly jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran over to Misty.

"Thanks." Ash said with a snort. "Well I'm going for a walk, alone this time, sorry pikachu. I'll be back in time for dinner Brock."

"Brock, are you sure that this is such a good idea, just letting Ash walk off like that without even taking pikachu after what Barty told us?" Misty asked as Ash disappeared from sight into the forest.

"Ash'll be fine, Misty." Brock replied, "He's got his other pokemon and you know that he can't resist my cooking."

"You're right, of course." Misty said and even though she was unable to dispel all of her worries, she felt a lot better.


	10. Chapter 10

"Why can't we ever catch pikachu?!" screamed Jessie. "It makes me so mad to always be thwarted by those twerps."

"You know, Jessie?" James started.

"What?" snapped Jessie angrily.

"I think the reason that we can't catch pikachu is because that twerp always gets in the way." James said.

"James, you said that before and I believe that you might be on to something. I remember that when we caught pikachu and all of those nuzleaf, the twerp used his cwarfish's crabhammer attack to fling himself up to grab the balloon and set the Nuzleaf, and pikachu, free." Jessie remembered.

"I remember that when pikachu had amnesia and it thought we were its friends that the twerp grabbed the basket as it took off and took pikachu." James reminisced.

"So what are we going to do about our twerp problem?" James asked.

"What are we going to do; I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to catch **him** and take **him **to the Boss." meowth answered.

"Bur meowth, aren't we supposed to be catching pokemon, not people?" James contradicted.

"Imagine, the Boss just finished building his new brainwashing machine when he realizes that he has no one to test it on. Just then we walk in, dragging the twerp along behind us. The Boss'll be so happy that his machine works that we'll get promoted!" fantasized meowth.

"Yay! A big raise with a corner office!" cheered Jessie.

"But meowth," James said uncertainly, "why would the Boss want an outsider when he has so man Team Rocket employees who would gladly do it?"

"Because even though you two are loath to admit it, he is a great trainer," meowth started.

"What!?!" Jessie interrupted.

"I get what meowth is trying to say. He's saying that the twerp is a great trainer because if he wasn't then how could he keep beating us?" James finished for meowth.

"Exactly. I mean I know that the Boss has us but the twerp would be a valuable edition to Team Rocket." meowth stated.

"You're right!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Now here's what we're going to do." Meowth explains his plan to Jessie and James as they nod in agreement.


	11. Chapter 11

"I wonder if I really should have left pikachu with Misty and Brock." Ash wondered as he walked through the woods. "I'll be fine." He thought as he suddenly came to the edge of the trail. He wondered if he should go back or not. "I think that I'll just keep going, I mean it's just a forest. What could happen?" Ash thought to himself. He walked forward starting to make his way through the brush. Suddenly the ground dropped away beneath his feet and he fell into a deep hole. When he hit the bottom, he was temporarily stunned, not for long, but long enough for Team Rocket to jump out and throw a net over his head.

"Prepare for trouble," stated Jessie.

"Make it double." added James.

"To protect the world from devastation." Jessie continued.

"To unite all peoples within our nation." James said.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love." said Jessie.

"To extend our reach to the stars above." said James.

"Jessie."

"James."

"Meowth's the name." meowth put in.

"Whenever there's peace in the universe," Jessie said.

"Team Rocket," James said.

"Will be there." Meowth added.

"To make everything worse." all tree said together.

"And now before you can call for help…" Jessie said as she pushed a button that sent an electrical current sizzling along the string to Ash who was crouching underneath the net trying to get out. The electrical current was strong enough to put Ash in serious pain.

"Augghhh!!" Ash yelled in agony. Ash the current continued, the world started to go black for him and the last thing he saw was Jessie's laughing face.


	12. Chapter 12

"Brock, I'm worried. He should have been back by now!" Misty exclaimed.

"I know. He missed dinner, he never does that!" Brock said worriedly.

"Do you think that something may have happened to him?" Misty asked with concern.

"Who knows, with Team Rocket always after pikachu." Brock stated.

"But isn't pikachu here with us?" Misty pointed out.

"Let's just wait a little longer and if he doesn't show up then we'll go out and look for him." Brock decided.

"Okay, but not too much longer." Misty agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

"Now what do we do with him?" Jessie asked, "Now that we've got him?"

"First we need to take his pokemon and tie him up. Remember the pokemon league, where we captured him but because he had his pookemon, he managed to escape." James stated.

"I remember that and just to be safe we'll give him a dose of paralysis powder and stun spore when he wakes up." Jessie replied.

"Good idea Jessie." Meowth said. "That way he won't be able to even try to escape."

"Unnnn." Ash groaned as he started to regain consciousness. The pain returning in full force as his eyes started to open.

"Look he's starting to wake up!" James exclaimed.

"Ohh goody!" Jessie said. "Meowth, get the paralysis powder and stun spore."

"I'm right on it!" Meowth said as he went to fetch them.

"Unnn." Ash groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. He tried to get up and run away but discovered that he was bound. "What do they want with me?" Ash thought to himself as he desperately tried to free himself. Jessie saw what he was trying to do.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jessie reprimanded him. "If you escape, then who is going to save your precious little pokemon?" Jessie started waving around Ash's pokemon in front of his face. Suddenly Ash got an idea. He sprang up unexpectedly and pressed the release buttons on his pokeballs with his head.

"Squirtle, bulbasaur, charmander, pigeotto go, run away. Find Misty and Brock and tell them to get help!" Ash commanded them. The pokemon did not want to leave their friend but just then meowth came running back.

"I've got them!" meowth yelled , but as he finished speaking hi tripped over a tree root and the contents of the two cylinders that he was carrying were dumped out and the wind carried them towards Ash and his pokemon.

Ash shouted "Go!" at his pokemon and head-butted them towards the forest just in time because the stun spore and paralysis powder hit just after they got out of range. Because Ash had pushed them out of the way, he received the full hit and almost lost consciousness. "Go." Ash groaned in pain from the combined affect of paralysis powder and stun spore.

"The twerp is getting extremely annoying." Jessie whined. "Seviper, poison tail on the twerps pokemon." She told seviper as she released it from her pokeball.

"No!" Ash cried and threw himself in front of his pokemon. As the poison tail hit, Ash was finally starting to feel the effect of the paralysis powder combined with stun spore. "Go." He whispered and lost consciousness. Bulbasaur, charmander, squirtle, and pigeotto finally turned and ran to get help.

"That was annoyingly heroic." Jessie commented.

"Yes." Meowth replied, "but at least he's out of commission. The twerp's pokemon ran to get help so let's get a move on."

"I couldn't agree more. But how are we going to transport him to the Boss?" James asked.

"That's already been taken care of." Meowth assured them. Just then the wind picked up and the tree Team Rocket members looked up. "See?" asked meowth as the helicopter landed. "Hurry up and throw him in the cargo hold!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey Brock, aren't those Ash's pokemon?" Misty asked as she spotted Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, and Pigeotto ran out of the forest.

"You're right, and they look really scared." Brock replied.

"Where's Ash?" Misty asked Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur started running off into the woods then stopped and looked back.

"Bulba."

"Follow you?" Misty asked. Bulbasaur nodded his head. "Okay then Brock, lets go."

"I'm right behind you." Brock said solemnly. They started running off into the woods and came across the hole that Ash had fallen into.

"P-Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Pikachu has Ash's scent!" Misty cried and when Pikachu pointed to the hole Misty ran up to it. She was about to climb in when…

… "Don't touch that hole, Misty!" Brock cried in an urgent voice. "You'll be electrocuted if you do!"

"E-e-electricuted?!?! But how could a hole be spiked with electricity?" Misty exclaimed. "Ohhhh," she growled suddenly, "I'm going to get Team Rocket! C'mon Brock, we have to keep going. They started running again towards Ash. "Misty, calm down. I think that you're right about this being Team Rocket's hole but what would they want with Ash?" Brock asked, starting to get worried. "Don't they usually go after pokemon?"

"You're right, so what…? You don't think?" Misty stammered starting to realize.

"Brainwashing!??" Brock nodded yes. "But if they get ahold of him…! Ohh Brock, what are we going to do? Misty wailed.

"The only thing we can do. Get to him before…" they arrived at the site of the take off, "Its too late."


	15. Chapter 15

As the helicopter took off, Ash started to regain consciousness. He was still unable to move because of the paralysis powder and stun spore but as he was conscious he was able to think and contemplate about what had happened. "Okay." Ash thought to himself. "I got into a fight with Misty, took a walk and left Pikachu behind, I'm beginning to think that that was a mistake, fell into a hole. Then I got electrocuted, lost consciousness, woke up in a clearing, bound, then I lost consciousness and woke up here. Oh boy, what an eventful morning." Ash thought as he finished summarizing his day so far. "I don't know whether to laugh or to worry."

"Touchdown will be in five minutes. Brace yourself." Came a shout from the front.

"I'm so excited!" James exclaimed and noticed that Ash was awake. "Hey look at the twerp!" he shouted to notify the others. "He's awake!" Ash rushed to close his eyes and pretend that he was still unconscious, but it was too late. Jessie saw him.

"So twerp, enjoy your nap?" Unable to respond, Ash just lay there and stared. "You'll be meeting the Boss soon and…" she stopped. "Now we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?" She checked his bindings just in case the paralysis powder started to wear off. "James." She barked. "As soon as we land, unload the twerp and wait for Meowth and myself." The helicopter landed and they were met by Cassedy and Butch.

"Don't you three ever know when to quit?" Cassedy sneered.

"Yeah, didn't you know that the Boss banished you from Team Rocket forever?" Butch added.

"Oh, I think that he'll reconsider once he sees what we've brought him." Jessie said.

"What? More bad news? Nothing could be so good that he'll admit you back into Team Rocket so just go hom-m-me." Cassedy stuttered to a finish because she saw James carry out the twerp who had foiled her plans so many times. "How d-d-did you…?" she stuttered.

"A little scheming and planning, you know. He was very easy to catch when you have his pokemon." Jessie laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ash thought. "Make fun of me now, but I'll be free soon. I can already start to feel my body." He was jerked out of thought by James starting to carry him indoors. "Shoot!" he thought. "I can't move enough yet!"

"Let's go meowth." Jessie told the cat shaped pokemon. She turned to Cassedy and Butch." If you want to tag along you can." Jessie said.

"What's the catch?" Cassedy asked suddenly suspicious.

"All you have to do is say 'Can we come Queen Jessie?' and I might let you tag along." Jessie smirked as she waited for a reply.

"Oh you… Nevermind, it's not worth it." Cassedy turned and walked away.

"Suit yourself." Jessie said with a shrug and walked off to meet James.


	16. Chapter 16

"What are we going to do Brock!?!" Misty yelled in panic. "Those crooks took Ash!"

"Misty, calm down." Brock started to say.

"Calm down? Calm down!? How can I calm down at a time like this?! My best friend has been kidnapped by Team Rocket and, and…" Misty paused to catch her breath when Brock cut in.

"Misty. Freaking out is not going to find Ash." Brock said calmly. "We need to find a town and tell Officer Jenny."

"You're right, as always. I just feel so helpless." Misty said as she started to cry. "Brock, I'm scared."

"I know, but let's keep walking. The sooner we arrive at a town, the better." They started walking and as fate would have it, the trees started to clear and there were houses in the distance. By this time, Misty had stopped crying and her eyes were starting to clear. They arrived at the Pokemon Center in a matter of minutes and when they got there, the news was on. Meanwhile back in Pallet Town, in the home of Ash Ketchum, three very familiar figures were watching the same news report. Gary, Ash's rival, Mrs. Ketchum, Ash's mother, and Professor Oak were watching a very startling news report. It said, "This is the Dragonite Daily News and we have just made a very startling discovery. We have just recognized a helicopter flying the skies as Team Rocket's, a notorious band of thieves, land at a giant building which we can only assume to be their base. The helicopter landed and we recognized two people and a meowth climb out carrying a boy who appeared unconscious at the time. We were able to zoom in to get his picture" The news paused for a moment to show those all too familiar jeans, t-shirt, hat, and mess of black hair. Everybody watching jumped in surprise.

"Th-th-that's Ash!" Professor Oak exclaimed.

"But how did they get him?!" Gary said in surprise. "And what do they want with him?"

"Oh my baby!" Mrs. Ketchum wailed.

"Shhh." Gary said. "It's back on." Mrs. Ketchum immediately fell silent.

"This image was taken one hour earlier and I feel sorry for that poor boy because Team Rocket has just completed their brainwashing device. Woe be it to that boy. Well that's it for tonight folks." She ended by going from serious to very high pitched and cheery.

"My Ashy has been kidnapped by Team Rocket!" Mrs. Ketchum wailed.

"Gramps, I've gotta go." Gary said as he stood up and started to put on his cloak.

"I realize that. Hmmm," Professor Oak pondered. "I suggest you head to Viridian City first. Last I heard, they were traveling in the Viridian Forest so his friends might be there."

"Thanks Grandpa." He said as he walked out the door, mounted his pidgeot, and flew away.

"Good luck my grandson, good luck." Professor Oak responded.


	17. Chapter 17

"Buzz. Buzz." The buzzer sounded.

"Yes?" barked Giovanni.

"S-sir," stammered Jessie, we have brought you a gift of great value."  
"I have no need for your services anymore. Leave me now." Giovanni snapped.

"But sir, please at least look at what we've brought you." James pleaded.

"Fine." He snapped. "Come in, dump your package, and get out!" Giovanni barked.

"Yes sir!" Jessie, James, and meowth replied at once. They rushed in, dumped Ash who was still paralyzed, on the floor and started to rush out when…

"Stop." Giovanni commanded. Jessie, James, and meowth stood stock still. "Answer me, why have you brought me this child?"

They turned around and pushed meowth forward. "A-hem, well you see sir, um, this twerp has caused Team Rocket many troubles in the past and he has great abilities. He's seen Ho-oh and Mew. Befriended Mew-Two, Celebi, Lucario, Latias, and Jirachi. He's ridden Suiqune and Lugia. Battled Moltres, Articuno, Zaptos, Groudon, Kyogre, Requeza, and Entei. This boy is one of the greatest trainers that I have seen. Perhaps even good enough to beat you. So, if you use you new brainwashing devise on him, think of what a powerful ally he will be." Meowth finished. Giovanni continued to glare at them and they feared that they had angered him when he started to laugh in his evil way.

"I think that I will readmit you into Team Rocket just for bringing me this boy. His story, according to you, is amazing. I will receive great pleasure from probing his thoughts." He sneered in his evil way at Ash and left the room. Ash, still unable to move, felt a growing fear rise.


	18. Chapter 18

Brock and Misty were leaving the Police Station after being able to receive no help at all when Gary's pidgeot landed in front of them. "I heard about Ash." He said as he dismounted and called pidgeot back to its pokeball. "And I want some answers." He said.

"Like what?" Brock asked.

"Well, for starters," Gary began, "how did they get him?"

Brock replied, "I think that it is best that we show you." He started off walking with Gary and pikachu but Misty stayed behind to take care of the rest of Ash's pokemon. Brock, Gary, and pikachu soon arrived at the hole.

"It's a hole." Gary said unimpressed until Brock threw a stick in the hole and sent sparks flying. "An electrocuted hole, how long ago was Ash snared in it?" Gary asked.

"To the best of our knowledge, I'd say around two to three hours." Brock answered.

"That's some voltage to still be giving of that much electricity two hours later. Even I would probably lose consciousness. So where was he taken after this hole?" Gary asked and started following Brock again.

They soon arrived at a clearing. "Pikachu tracked him to this clearing where we watched helplessly as a helicopter took off and flew away." Brock said sadly. Suddenly angry, he burst out, "And we were powerless to do anything! Even with all of our pokemon, there was nothing that we could do!" Brock's anger subsided and he stared sadly at the sky. "Ohh Ash." He sighed.


	19. Chapter 19

Ash was still in Giovanni's office when the paralysis finally wore off. He had been given the stun spore antidote on the helicopter. Ash started working to break his bonds and pondered a way to escape. "The window is too high so I can't escape that way and the door is undoubtedly guarded but it is my only chance soo…" Ash finished thinking as he broke through the ropes around his hands, untied his feet, opened the door and rushed out. Just as he suspected, there were guards by the now open door but in his rush to open the door they had been slammed into the wall and had fallen stunned. Ash looked desperately for a way to escape. "There!" he thought as he spotted the door he came through. He ran to the door and was almost there when he heard…

"Alakazam, psychic." Giovanni said as he stepped out of the shadows. Ash managed to take one more step before he was frozen by alakazam's power. Ash struggled with all of his might but could not break free. "Boy," Giovanni said with a smirk, "I have been waiting for you. I figured that someone with your history would not just sit still and let your memories and abilities be used against pokemon around the world."

"Grrr." Ash growled defiantly. "What do you want with me?"

"Well for starters, Iwant your memories and your loyalty." Giovanni replied.

"You'll get neither!!" Ash growled.

"You don't have a choice." Giovanni snapped. The smirk finally left his face and he gestured for alakazam to follow him, bringing Ash.

They arrived in a small chamber occupied by machines. Ash couldn't help staring in astonishment. He had never seen anything like this before. Giovanni headed straight to a machine with a screen attached. Giovanni locked Ash's wrists and ankles on the table it was connected to. Ash struggled with all his might but still could not break the psychic attack. Giovanni told alakazam, "You may release your hold now. Our young friend is not going anywhere." Alakazam let Ash go but as Giovanni had said, the metal bars held him in place.

"Let…me…go..!" Ash grunted desperately but Giovvani just smiled a creepy smile that seemed to say not a chance. The leader of Team Rocket then hooked the helmet to Ash's head and he received a shocking and painful jolt in his brain. It felt like somebody had stuck their hand in his head and was probing his mind. To escape the terrible pain, Ash retreated to the darkness.

As Ash let the darkness take him, the screen the helmet was connected to activated and pictures started flashing on it. There was Ash sitting on the ground staring at a supposedly extinct bird-type pokemon and then standing on the end of a pier staring up at a pokemon that was extremely agile and pink. The next flick showed Ash carrying an injured Mew-Two to a lake. Giovanni started as he recognized his creation. So it wasn't a dream. "I knew it!" Giovanni exclaimed. "If it weren't for this child, Mew-Two would already be in my grasp." But being the evil mastermind that he was, he kept his cool. "Oh well, I'll just have to use this boy against it. Ha ha ha ha ha!" he laughed and even alakazam gave a small snicker. The screen displayed the next image, showing Ash fighting a Team Rocket member for possession of a pokeball. He watched as Ash played with a little green pokemon that he recognized as Celebi.

"Unnggh." Ash groaned as he started to revive. Ash he woke up, the moniter started to flicker. Giovanni then realized that there was a flaw in his machine. It could only work when the one it was probing was either unconscious or asleep.

"Hmmm." Giovanni pondered, for as the leader of Team Rocket he rarely got frustrated. "Should I continue to probe his memories?" he asked to no one in particular. As no one else was saying anything, he decided to answer himself, "No, I'll just download them later and delete them from his memory. He'll be a blank parchment before the writer's hand." Giovanni had started to laugh in his evil way once more as Ash woke up. Ash felt very afraid at that moment.


	20. Chapter 20

"C'mon! Hurry up! We can't wait around here forever!" Misty called back to Brock and Gary, impatient to get o the road again.

"It's been a while since I've had to walk anywhere." Gary said as he stretched, "It would be refreshing if not for what lies at the end."

"Well, we better hurry. Misty is almost out of sight." Brock replied. When they finally caught up to Misty, she was sitting on the ground eating an apple.

"What took you?" she asked when she had swallowed.

"You wouldn't wait after you took off like a rocket." Gary replied.

"Yea Misty, I know that you always were a little impatient, but what's up with this?" Brock asked. "Does it have something to do with Ash, because if it does then you should know that he is perfectly able to take care of himself."

Misty blushed, "I know that he can, but he just looked so helpless on the screen that, oh I don't know. I'm just worried."

"Hmmm." Gary thought aloud. "You know, Misty, if I didn't know any better, I might have thought that you had feelings for Ash."

"What?!? That's insane!" Misty protested.

"Well, this has been an enlightening conversation and all, but we are burning daylight people, c'mon!" Brock said as a timely intervention.

Misty quickly composed herself, grabbed her apple and threw it into the woods.

"Uh, Misty." Gary said with dread.

"What?" Misty said as she turned to look at him.

"Behind you. Run!" yelled Brock. Misty turned to look behind her and saw a wild ursaring. Both Brock and Misty took off as fast as they could but instead of running, Gary took out a pokeball and said, "Arcanine, flamethrower." The pokeball opened with a flash of white light and out jumped what looked like a cross between a dog and a tiger. "Go." Gary commanded and arcanine spat forth flames. The ursaring hesitated, but only for a moment. It roared and suddenly an entire herd appeared. Now it was Gary's turn to turn and run so he called back his pokemon and tore after Misty and Brock who were already a ways ahead of him.


	21. Chapter 21

After Ash woke up, he started struggling at the metal bars that held him down. Giovanni rang a buzzer and two mean looking employees stepped through the door holding rope. "Since I know that you won't join me on your won, I think that I will just have to give you a little helping hand." Giovanni motioned to the two employees. "Bind him and follow me." He left the room. The two men turned to Ash and released the bars on his arms and legs but before Ash could react, they had his legs ties so tightly that he couldn't even feel his feet. In less than a minute, the rest of him was bound and Ash couldn't move. One of the men picked up Ash and slung him over his shoulder as if he were no more than a dishrag. Both of the employees left the room following their boss. They found him sitting in his office. "Oh good, you're here." Giovanni said as he pressed another button that caused a wall to open. "Through here." The burly men walked through the opening and placed Ash in a chair. "Now m young friend, I promise that if you surrender your memories willingly, I won't hurt you. Much." Giovanni laughed and attached another helmet to Ash's head.

"I will never surrender anything to you. Not my memories, my freedom, or my services." Ash spat out through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Giovanni exclaimed in mock surprise. "Well, I beg to differ. You see, you don't have a choice." He adjusted a dial on the machine and pressed a red button. Ash screamed I pain as his memories started to disappear onto a disk. "I am really going to enjoy this."


	22. Chapter 22

Misty, Brock, Gary, and pikachu were pounding along the path when suddenly pikachu stopped and cocked its head back and forth as if trying to hear a faint sound in the distance.

"Pikachu, what is it?" Misty asked.

"Shh. He's trying to hear something." Brock reprimanded her.

"But I don't hear anything." Misty said straining her ears.

Gary had stayed very quiet after their encounter with that herd of ursuring but now he said, "Maybe he senses something."

"You're right! I've noticed that those two always seem to notice when the other's in danger." Brock added. Just as Brock finished speaking, pikachu seemed to lose the connection it had, like the sudden connection drop of somebody cutting a phone line.

"PIKACHUUUUU!" pikachu cried, sending off bolt after bolt of electricity just like the time that Ash had turned to stone when trying to stop the fight between Mew and Mew-Two.

Misty, realizing what was wrong, said, "Oh-no." Brock we're too late. They've got Ash!" She burst into tears sobbing on his shoulder.

"What's wrong with you two?" Gary asked, "Who's got Ash?"

"Team Rocket finally has control of Ash." Brock replied, confirming the worst fears of the three.

"Well, not to break up this serious moment, but shouldn't we get a move on? There may still be time to save Ash." Gary prodded.

Misty sniffed, "Of course." She said, burning with a new determination, "Where there's a will, there's a way." She started running towards the big building that was peeking over the trees.

"Now let's think strategically." Gary said. "Get out your pokemon and we'll charge, full force." They all took off after Misty and while they ran, they released all of the pokemon they had. Misty even released her psyduck.

"Misty! You're bringing out psyduck!?! You must really be desperate." Brock exclaimed.

Misty blushed. "So what? We need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, well, enough gabbing. We're here." Gary whispered.

"Ready? On the count of three, we're all just going to rush in." Brock told them.

"Wait. Brock and myself will cause a distraction while you rush in and grab Ash." Gary told Misty. "Agreed?"

"Agreed." Said both Misty and Brock without hesitation.

"Then One, Two, Three!" shouted Gary.


	23. Chapter 23

"The download will be complete in five minutes." The computer's voice rang out above the drone of the machinery.

"Excellent." Giovanni said, extremely pleased. "Soon you will forget everything and live only to serve me." He told the still figure attached to the chair.

"Just then a foot soldier rushed in, "Sir!" he shouted and Giovanni shot him a stern look. "I-I mean sir," he corrected himself in a whisper, "We appear to be in the middle of an attack by that young person's friends." He gestured to Ash. "What should we do?"

"Defend this boy with your very life. Soon, with him on our side, we will be unstoppable!" he ended. "Now go, I will join you shortly." Giovanni left to go to his office and the soldier followed, leaving Ash alone in the room.

Amidst the confusion, Misty managed to slip into the room unnoticed just in time to hear the computerized voice say, "Download complete. Please insert new memory."

Choking back tears, Misty unhooked Ash from the machine, picked him up, and rushed from the room. She left the building and after setting Ash down at their latest camp, rushed back to the brawl to relay the message, "Ash is secured, fall back." She started to call her pokemon back, one at a time and they all made a strategical retreat.


	24. Chapter 24

"Giovanni, sir! It looks like they're running away." One of the foot soldiers cheered.

"If you think that, then you are a fool." He glared at the soldier. "Go check on the prisoner and if he's gone, then you will be the one who pays for t." The soldier jumped up and ran the fear showing clearly in his eyes. "Now is there anyone else who thinks they know the outcome of this battle?" he paused and stared at his troops. "Good because we lost. The boy is gone and most likely the disk as well…"

Giovanni was interrupted by the soldier who had gone to check on Ash. "Sir," he panted, "the boy is gone but fortunately the disk remains." At this, Giovanni actually smiled and told all of his employees to go and find the boy. He then motioned for one of his technicians to take the disc and put it in the vault. Then he motioned for another one to follow him.

"I've heard the rumors that you are the best at recreating memories." The technician gave a frightful nod. "Good. I want you to create an artificial memory for our young friend once he returns. Make him believe that he has always supported Team Rocket and is loyal only to me. He has no friends and no family other than me, his father. I am the only person that he has ever been close to, no pokemon."

The technician nodded, "Sir, I am able to do all that and more, but I shall require his own memories to make the new ones work."

"Fine, fine just make sure he remembers nothing of his past life, especially his pikachu." The technician nodded in agreement but shuddered inwardly for he knew that in order to make new memories work for a person, the strongest of the old memories must be used.

"Very well, if you wish it, is shall be done."


	25. Chapter 25

"Look, I think that he's waking up!" Misty yelled to inform the others.

"Really? I don't see any change." Gary replied.

"Mrs. Ketchum, you can stop crying now, Ash us moving." Misty told the sobbing figure on the couch.

"Really!?! You're right! Ash, Ash! It's me, do you remember?" Mrs. Ketchum cried. Ash groaned and opened his eyes, took a look around, saw the five people staring at him, and started to run away.

"Ash my boy, where are you going?" Professor Oak cried in alarm as he grabbed Ash's arm.

"Let me go!" Ash cried and tried to shake Professor Oak loose. "What do you want with me?!"

"Ash, it's us, don't you remember us?" Brock said.

"Who is this 'Ash' you keep talking about?" Ash asked.

"That's you, your name is Ash." Misty told him.

"No its not, my name is … My name is… You know, I have no idea what my name is." Ash realized.

"So he really doesn't remember anything, huh?" Gary asked Brock in hushed tones.

"I guess not. Let's see if he'll remember pikachu." Brock whispered back. "Pikachu!" Brock called.

"Pika!" pikachu cried as he came running and tried to jump onto Ash's hat overjoyed to see his best friend again.

As pikachu came running up to him, Ash started to back up. 'Why is this pokemon running towards me? Like it knows me!?!' Ash thought in alarm. "Why can't I remember anything?!" Ash burst out so suddenly that everybody took a step back. "Listen, I know you all mean well, but I have no idea who any of you are." Ash tried to explain.

"Pipikachu?" pikachu cocked his head.

"Not even you." He replied but as he said it, his heart gave a painful learch. "I've got to go." Ash said as he rushed out he door.

"Ash! Wait! Its dangerous out there!" Misty yelled but Ash just raised his hand and disappeared from sight.


	26. Chapter 26

"Will we ever find that twerp?" Jessie complained.

"I don't know, but maybe it would help if you stopped wining and started looking." Meowth replied.

"What idid you just say to me?!" Jessie screeched.

"I said that you're lazy!" meowth yelled.

"You're going to get it!" Jessie yelled as she jumped on Meowth.

"Right back at ya!" meowth said as he extended his claws.

"Hold it guys!" James exclaimed.

"What?!" they both growled simultaneously.

"I think I see him." James replied. "Look."

Both Jessie and Meowth looked over the edge of the basket and sure enough there was Ash, running towards the forest. "Aha! I see him!" Jessie said very excitedly.

"Whew!" meowth exclaimed, "Look at him go."

"But that's not the best part." James pointed to some figures running behind Ash.

"Are those the twerp's friends?!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Are they chasing him?" Meowth added.

"It would appear that way." James answered.

'Oh well, just forget about them. Meowth, activate the machine!" Jessie ordered.

"On it!" he pressed a big red button and a giant hand jumped out.


	27. Chapter 27

Ash was running for the forest when he happened to look behind him. "Why are they chasing me?" he wondered. Unfortunately, since he was looking behind him and not where he was going, Ash ran straight into the giant red hand sent by Team Rocket. "Ahhhh!" Ash yelled as he was lifted off the ground.

Last time, Brock and Misty watched helplessly as Team Rocket took Ash away. "Not again!" Misty wailed. "Why is it that every time Team Rocket catches Ash, we just have to stand by and watch!?"

"Not this time." Brock said forcefully. "Onix, wrap!" he called as he released a large snakelike pokemon made of stone from its pokeball.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Jessie laughed. "Do they seriously think that they can stop us with that pathetic move?" Just then, the infamous meowth ballon they were riding on morphed into a helicopter and it moved away quick enough that the wrap attack failed. All three of them laughed as they flew off.

Brock pounded his fist on the ground. "We are useless!" he exclaimed in despair. "We can't even rescue our best friend from those three buffoons!"

Misty broke down in tears but Gary maintained a calculating silence. "I think that we need to bring in reinforcements." Gary said, keeping his cool. "Misty, you locate Richy, Morrison, Max, May, Tracey, and any other of Ash's friends that you can think of." Misty ran off immediately. "Brock, you and I will figure out what Team Rocket is trying to do and formulate a plan to stop it."

Brock smiled, relieved. "Thanks Gary, it's good to know that one of us doesn't crack under pressure."

"Tell me that when the pressure starts." Gary muttered.


	28. Chapter 28

"Let me go!" Ash yelled at his captors. "I have done absolutely nothing to you so why do you treat me so?"

James whispered to Meowth, "So he really doesn't remember all those times he had his pikachu blow up our balloon?"

"Of course not. Did you actually think that the Boss's machine was going to fail?" Meowth asked.

"No, but still, it does seem kind of impossible." James replied.

"Would you two shut up!" Jessie screeched at them. "You be quiet and stop complaining as well." She snapped at Ash.

Ash wisely fell silent and they soon arrived at their destination. He was thinking of commenting on the size of the base when the balloon landed and Giovanni himself strode out to meet them. "My boy!" he cried to Ash with fake concern. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick." Giovanni reached in to hug Ash but Ash backed away. "You don't remember me?" he asked with a fraud display of dismay as Ash shook his head. "Well, we'll just have to fix that." Giovanni clapped his hands and two employees appeared. "Please escort my boy to his room and help him to sit down. He's had a traumatic experience."

"Yes sir!" they replied and held their hands out to help Ash who was scrambling out of the balloon.

"Thanks." Ash replied uncertainly and let them lead him up to the room with the brainwashing machine in it. They led him to the machine and had him sit in it. Suddenly they sprang into action, fastening the metal bars around his ankles and wrists. "H-h-hey!" Ash exclaimed. "What's going on here?"

"My boy," Giovanni said stepping out of the shadows, "prepare to join the ranks of Team Rocket forever." He laughed as the machine turned on and Ash yelled in pain as new memories flooded his consciousness.


	29. Chapter 29

Misty rushed in on Gary and Brock. "I contacted everyone that I can think of and they're all on their way."

"Good job, now we just need to figure out how to get in touch with all of those legendary pokemon that Ash has managed to meet." Gary replied.

"We need to find Suicune, Lugia, Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, Entei, Ho-oh…" Brock started.

"Well, that last one might be impossible seeing as Ash is the only person who has seen Ho-oh since that fire in the bell tower." Misty pointed out.

"We still have to try." Gary said. "Please continue Brock."

"Alright. Um, lets see. Celebi, Deoxys, Requeza, Manapee, Groudon, Kyogre, Jirachi, Latios, Latias, Mew-Two, Mew, and Lucario." Brock finished.

"Whew, that's some list." Gary exclaimed.

Misty said, "Brock, Latios died protecting Alto Mare so that one won't work."

"And the last one won't work either, or did you forget Brock?" came a voice from the doorway.

Gary turned in surprise. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm surprised that Brock didn't recognize me," replied the airy tone, "it's May!"

"And Max!" came a smaller voice behind May. "You do know that Jirachi is going to sleep for another 1,000 years, or did you forget that too?"

"Hi! I'm sorry but my mind isn't really here right now, I mean I'm just so worried about Ash." Brock apologized.

"I know. When we heard about Ash, we rushed over as fast as we could." May said.

"Luckily we were in the area." Max put in.

"Now what about Lucario?" Gary asked.

"Oh yeah, don't you remember Brock, Lucario fused with the Aura and disappeared." May reminded him.

"Well that's narrowed the list down three, not to sound rude or anything." Gary said quickly. "We just can't dwell on the past when the future is as stake."

"He's right, you know." sounded a different voice.

"I know that voice!" Misty exclaimed. "It's Richy!"

"Thanks for getting here so quickly." Brock said.

"I couldn't stand by knowing that Ash is in trouble." Richy said. He looked as sad as Misty, sounded as angry as Brock, and thought as calmly as Gary, a strange combination.

Just then Morrison came in. He looked angry. "What happened?" he questioned. "I demand a full explanation."

Everyone agreed. "Good. Now that we are all here we can get started." Gary said but added, "After we explain," when he saw the looks on the faces of the new arrivals.


	30. Chapter 30

"Aaaauuuggghhh!" Ash screamed in pain as artificial memories began pouring into his mind.

"Not so tough now twerp." Snickered Jessie under her breath.

"Did you say something?" Giovanni asked, turning to glare at the female member of his organization.

Jessie jumped. "No, not a thing sir." She stammered.

"Good," replied Giovanni, "for this boy will be in charge of the squad that I am putting you three in. Now go!"

"Yes sir!" Jessie, James, and Meowth all said at once and marched out the door.

Once out of hearing range Jessie grumbled, "Why do we have to put up with this?" she complained, mad that she was not getting her way.

"Jessie you do know that the Boss has eyes everywhere, right?" James asked.

"No I didn't." Jessie replied.

"Then I suggest we get outta here." Meowth yelled and ran away. Jessie and James followed close behind looking distinctly puzzled.

"Now that those three buffoons are out of our way, shall we continue?" Giovanni asked Ash who was still hooked up to the chair.

"Download complete. Download complete." Said the chair in its machine voice as the bonds holding Ash's arms and legs released.

"Oh good, right on schedule." Giovanni said. He looked down at the kneeling figure just as Ash was looking up, a snigger on his lips.


	31. Chapter 31

The listeners were stunned. "How could something like this happen?" Richy asked. "I mean Ash has been in more jams than anybody and he still manages to get out of them, relatively unharmed. Whether on luck or skill, I have no idea." continued Richy.

"None of us do, but you're right about the fact that he still gets out of those jams." Morrison replied.

"Except," Brock interrupted and all eyes turned to him, "when he was in those jams Team Rocket was always after Pikachu and Ash could sneak around because nobody was paying him any attention." This made sense, and it also made sense that it would come from the voice of reason in their group.

"True," Misty said, "but he also had his pokemon, Pikachu, and his friends with him to help out." She said, "Without them, and us, Ash is not at full power and is completely able to be captured." Misty added in a sad voice.

"Well, what do we do now?" Tracy asked.

"I don't know." May said truthfully. "Ash was always the one who acted, whether with a plan or on instincts, who knows, but he was always successful."

"I'll answer that one." Max offered, "Ash never had a plan. Not once in all the time that I knew him did he act on a plan and not on his instincts." He snorted, "That and a boatload of luck."

A different voice floated in from the doorway. "Well still, he was the one who acted and his instincts, and luck, are incredible if he was able to defeat Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma so many times on instinct alone."

"That voice, it couldn't be…!" Brock whirled around. "It is! Lance of the G-Men!" he exclaimed.

"Long time no see Brock, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances." May and Max stared at Lance. "And who could forget May and Max?" he quickly amended himself.

"Lance." Brock said to get his attention and he proceeded with the introductions. "This is Morrison, Richy, and last but not least Gary."

"My pleasure," he said bowing, "but we have more pressing matter to attend to. Ash is my friend as much as he is yours. We must develop a plan."

"I don't know who you are, but I like your style." Morrison grinned.


	32. Chapter 32

Giovanni looked down at the kneeling figure, "Perfect." He said. "A perfect masterpiece of my brilliance! Arise my son! Arise and join me in conquest!"

Ash rose. "Father, what would you have me do…?" he asked as he fell over into Giovanni's waiting arms.

"What?" he asked with a grunt. He turned Ash over to discover that he was sleeping. "Hmph." He wounded disappointed, but he knew that it was to be expected. Giovanni pressed a button on the wall and an employee walked in.

"Yes sir?" he asked.

"Take my son to the prepared room and just let him sleep, then take your leave." He commanded and the soldier left. "My son…" he said. "I haven't seen him in years, not since his mother found out that I was the head of Team Rocket and ran. I wonder where she's been hiding all this time, Deliah." He sighed and walked to the window. He stared out of it for a few minutes then walked over to the intercom. "Jessie, James, and Meowth. Report to my office immediately." He stepped back, counted down from ten, went to his desk, and was soon satisfied by the sound of running in the halls. Giovanni sat down at his desk and waited.

He was rewarded as Jessie, James, and Meowth came barreling in through the door. "Sir!" they shouted.

Giovanni looked up. "Have a seat." He said and as they were sitting he asked, "You have seen where the boy lives, correct?"

"Yes sir!" came the prompt reply. "We have been there on many occasions in our attempt to steal the boy's pikachu." James said.

"And you have seen his family?" prodded Giovanni.

"Yes sit." Came the reply once more although this time it was meowth that responded. "It is not much of a family sir, just a mother."

"Of course." He sighed, it was just as he assumed. "One more question."

"Yes?" asked Jessie.

"Where is the house?"

"Of the twerp?" she asked in clarification but was met with a glare.

"You will never use that term again within the earshot of myself or Ash." Giovanni snapped.

Jessie gulped. "Yes sir." She responded nervously.

"Now, where is the house?" he asked just as calmly and as creepily as when they started.

"It is in Pallet Town, near Professor Oak's laboratory." Jessie responded.

"You may go." Giovanni dismissed the trio.

As they left, James stuck his head back. "Sir?" he asked.

Giovanni barked, "What is it?"

James stuttered, "What about the squad that you were putting the twe… er, the boy, in charge of…?"

"I didn't actually mean that. Ash is too important to waste on the likes of you. Now get out." Giovanni replied.

James' face lit up with relief. "Thank you sir." He said and removed himself from the presence of the Boss of Team Rocket.

"The fool." Said Giovanni.


	33. Chapter 33

Back in Pallet Town, the rescue party was finishing up when Mrs. Ketchum walked in bearing a tray of snacks. "Break time." She said cheerfully. "You all need your strength if you're going to help my boy."

"Thanks Mrs. K, but there is one problem that we haven't been able to solve. Can you help us?" asked Gary before picking up a sandwich.

"Yea," Morrison added between chews, "we just can't seem to figure out why Giovanni would want Ash so badly, I mean I'm a far better trainer and Lance is better still, so what's so special about Ash?"

"I think it's because of what Ash has seen." Misty said. "He's seen so many legendary pokemon that aren't supposed to exist that it's almost not even believable."

"I believe that its more to do with what Ash had done rather than what he's seen." Brock said, countering Misty's statement.

Gary said, "Brock thinks its what he's done, Misty thinks its what he's seen, and everyone else have had plent of other theories, except Morrison." He added as an afterthought, "He's just confused." Gary continued, "Lance had an interesting suggestion, he thought that you might know why Giovanni is concentrating specifically on Ash. He looked at Mrs. Ketchum who shifted uncomfortably.

Professor Oak sighed. "I guess it was only a matter of time, go ahead Deliah, it couldn't stay a secret forever."

Mrs. Ketchum nodded. "Of course, I should have known this day would come." She looked out at her expecting audience. "You see, Giovanni, that is the leader of Team Rocket, is Ash's father."


	34. Chapter 34

Ash was dreaming. He was holding a Pikachu on his head, but he didn't know whose it was. He was remembering the pain of separation, the joy of victory, and the happiness of friendship. Ash was confused, he was there and so was that Pikachu in all of them, but he couldn't remember. His head hurt! Why can't he remember?!?

Ash woke up yelling. A foot soldier rushed in, "What is it sir? Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem. You may go." The foot soldier left. 'Yes, this is my life.' He thought as he got up and put on his uniform. He felt around for his had. "Wait." He thought and paused. "I don't wear a hat…" He left his room confused and headed to the main office. "Something doesn't feel right." He thought. "Why am I so light? Usually I think that I feel heavier than this." Ash shook the idea away. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." He arrived at the door and knocked.

A voice answered from inside. "Enter." It called. Ash walked in and a smile crept over the man's face. "Come here my boy." He said as he opened up his arms.

Ash rushed into them. "Father, it is so good to see you." He said happily.

Giovanni coughed, "Yes, yes, very good. Now go get yourself some breakfast, I have a big mission for you today."

"Really!?" Ash exclaimed. "Great! But, one question." He paused.

"What is it?"

"Where are my pokemon?" Ash asked.

Giovanni paused, "You don't have any pokemon. You haven't started a journey to catch any. So I let you borrow mine." He said slowly.

"That's strange; I thought that I had a Pikachu at the very least." Ash said mostly to himself. Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "Oh well. See you later." Ash said and left for the mess hall.

Giovanni pressed a buzzer and spoke into it. "Would the memory technician please report to my office? Now. This is an order." He sat down angrily and a few moments later the door opened and a person hastily rushed in.

"Memory technician reporting." He said between pants.

Giovanni stood up, too mad to even try to maintain his usual emotionless mask. "Why does Ash remember that he owned a Pikachu?!" he shouted, his carefully crafted control breaking in light of this recent crisis.

The technician flinched. "Well, you see sir, in order for the new memory to work," at this point the technician gulped.

"Well?!" Giovanni was practically roaring now. If this buffoon caused him to lose his son AGAIN…

This time the flinch was more prominent. "In order for the new memory to work, the strongest of the old memories must be used." The technician finally stammered out, barely hearing himself over the beats of his nervous heart.

Giovanni sat down, as he had stood up to yell at the technician, and massaged his temples. "You are certain that there was no other alternative?" he asked quietly trying to fix the pieces of his mask back together again.

Ash was dreaming. He was holding a Pikachu on his head, but he didn't know whose it was. He was remembering the pain of separation, the joy of victory, and the happiness of friendship. Ash was confused, he was there and so was that Pikachu in all of them, but he couldn't remember. His head hurt! Why can't he remember?!?

Ash woke up yelling. A foot soldier rushed in, "What is it sir? Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem. You may go." The foot soldier left. 'Yes, this is my life.' He thought as he got up and put on his uniform. He felt around for his had. "Wait." He thought and paused. "I don't wear a hat…" He left his room confused and headed to the main office. "Something doesn't feel right." He thought. "Why am I so light? Usually I think that I feel heavier than this." Ash shook the idea away. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." He arrived at the door and knocked.

A voice answered from inside. "Enter." It called. Ash walked in and a smile crept over the man's face. "Come here my boy." He said as he opened up his arms.

Ash rushed into them. "Father, it is so good to see you." He said happily.

Giovanni coughed, "Yes, yes, very good. Now go get yourself some breakfast, I have a big mission for you today."

"Really!?" Ash exclaimed. "Great! But, one question." He paused.

"What is it?"

"Where are my pokemon?" Ash asked.

Giovanni paused, "You don't have any pokemon. You haven't started a journey to catch any. So I let you borrow mine." He said slowly.

"That's strange; I thought that I had a Pikachu at the very least." Ash said mostly to himself. Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "Oh well. See you later." Ash said and left for the mess hall.

Giovanni pressed a buzzer and spoke into it. "Would the memory technician please report to my office? Now. This is an order." He sat down angrily and a few moments later the door opened and a person hastily rushed in.

"Memory technician reporting." He said between pants.

Giovanni stood up, too mad to even try to maintain his usual emotionless mask. "Why does Ash remember that he owned a Pikachu?!" he shouted, his carefully crafted control breaking in light of this recent crisis.

The technician flinched. "Well, you see sir, in order for the new memory to work," at this point the technician gulped.

"Well?!" Giovanni was practically roaring now. If this buffoon caused him to lose his son AGAIN…

This time the flinch was more prominent. "In order for the new memory to work, the strongest of the old memories must be used." The technician finally stammered out, barely hearing himself over the beats of his nervous heart.

Giovanni sat down, as he had stood up to yell at the technician, and massaged his temples. "You are certain that there was no other way?" he asked quietly trying to fix the pieces of his mask back together again.

The technician was calming down. Sensing that he was out of immediate danger, he continued more boldly, "There was only one other alternative, but it would have certainly killed the boy, or damaged his mind permanently."

Giovanni sighed. "Very well, you are dismissed." When the technician left, he put his head in his hands. "What to do now?" he wondered.


	35. Chapter 35

A shocked silence met Mrs. Ketchum's words until Misty said, "I didn't even know that Ash had a father, I mean, he never talked about one." Brock nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Ketchum sighed. "Ash never knew that he had a father, I left Giovanni before Ash was born. In fact, Ash was born in Professor Oak's laboratory surrounded by pokemon." Mrs. Ketchum sighed again. "Those were good times, when he was content just to stay here and play with Professor Oak's pokemon." She paused again, lost in memories.

May broke in. "That couldn't have lasted for long." she said.

Mrs. Ketchum laughed. "No it didn't. As soon as he could talk it was all about pokemon. Would you believe that his first word was 'Pikachu'?" Everybody nodded, causing Mrs. Ketchum to laugh. "Yes, I thought that you would, but the tranquility we had shattered. Gary's family moved into town." The group turned to stare at Gary.

"What are you looking at me for?" he asked, "I didn't do anything."

May scratched her chin. "Well, you do seem to instigate most of the fights between the two of you." she said.

Gary protested that vehemently. "But I never say anything."

"Exactly." May said, "It's the fact that you used to think that you were so superior and you never treated Ash as an equal that started most of the fights."

"But I was always so much better than Ash, he never could compete.

"There you go…" Misty started to complain about Gary's attitude but Mrs. Ketchum held up her hand.

"Gary is right, he was always better than Ash, but everyone else is right too, because Gary was always going on about being a pokemon trainer when he was old enough, of course Ash would get along instantly with him. They started playing together everyday; one day they were playing pokemon and trainer, or pokemon battle." She paused and looked at Gary. "You two could not be separated." She informed an embarrassed Gary.

"That was a long time ago." He said, flustered.

"Even still, you two seem pretty close now from what I've heard." Lance said and Gary just looked away. This statement was greeted by laughter from everyone except Gary himself.

The moment of laughter was put to a standstill as Mrs. Ketchum let out a sad sigh. "Yes," she said with a small smile, "It was all perfect until Gary started telling Ash how he was going to be the 'World's Greatest Pokemon Trainer' and in doing so, filled Ash's head with delusions of grandeur."

She paused as Max cut in. "Did you believe that he could do it?" he asked.

"Oh I had no doubt in my mind that Ash would pull it off. He cares too deeply for the pokemon for them to fail him." She answered Max before continuing with her story. "No, what I was afraid of was that when he left, he would undoubtedly meet up with at least one of the Team Rocket teams who would then report to Giovanni who would then order him followed and eventually capture him!" Mrs. Ketchum paused gasping for breath. She started to look panicked. "And now He'll come here just like in my worst nightmares." She shuddered in combined remembrance of said nightmares and worry for her missing son.

"Deliah," Professor Oak said quickly, "Calm down! Nobody is coming here." Mrs. Ketchum nodded but continued shivering. Professor Oak looked meaningly at the group and then he looked at the door. Lance nodded and started ushering everybody else away. Mrs. Ketchum nodded in thanks at Professor Oak. "What do we do now?" he asked the stars.


	36. Chapter 36

Ash was greeted with silence as he made his way into the mess hall. When he got in line for breakfast, the rest of the line left immediately. This confused him immensely. 'I wonder why they left?' he asked himself. Ash reached the food fairly quickly and started loading his plate. 'Oh well, but if it was me who caused them to leave, then I better go eat outside unless they feel the need to clear the cafeteria as well.' Ash thought and laughed quietly to himself. He finished filling his plate and headed out the door. As soon as he had left, activity in the cafeteria continued as normal. Ash went straight to an oak tree near the edge of the lawn on the outskirts of the forest. He sat down and started eating in silence when a teddyursa came over to him. "Would you like some?" he asked showing his food. The teddyursa's eyes lit up and it put out its paw expectantly. Ash laughed, "Alright, here." He placed a piece of cheese in the outstretched paw. The teddyursa stuck the cheese in its mouth then ran off into the forest. Ash sadly watched it go. "I was hoping that it would stay with me for at least a little while." He sighed and returned to his food. He finished his breakfast in silence and went to return his tray. Again he got the same treatment. Everybody ignored him and only paid him enough attention to get out of his way. Ash suppressed another sigh and made his way to Giovanni's office. As he reached the door, he heard voices coming from the room so he paused. 'It's not polite to eavesdrop.' he thought to himself and knocked. Immediately the voices stopped.

"Enter." came Giovanni's commanding voice. Ash opened the door and walked inside. "Ash my boy, you're right on time." He said as his son took his place in the large room. "This is Butch, he will be you're training partner. I have prepared a gym for you. Prepare to battle."

"At the word 'battle' Ash's ears perked. "You mean with pokemon?" he asked and at Giovanni's nod, cried out "YES!! Can I chose my own!?" he asked looking to his father for confirmation. Again Giovanni nodded and pressed a button on his desk, opening a door in the wall.

"The pokeballs are labeled. Choose whichever you like."

"Thank you father!" Ash cried and ran into the room.

"Now, where were we?" Giovanni asked Butch but before he could respond, Giovanni answered himself. "Oh yes, I want you to tell me everything that goes on in that battle today. I will be monitoring the whole thing myself, but you can get far more data from being the actual opponent. Tell me everything. Understand?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Butch responded.

At that moment, Ash came out of the room. "All ready!" he said. "Lead the way." He told Butch who looked at Giovanni who in turn nodded.

"Follow me." Butch said and left the room with Ash in tow. Butch led the way down to a gym with a referee already waiting inside.

The referee explained the rules. "This will be a two-on-two pokemon battle. Whoever's pokemon are unable to battle first loses. Understand?" he finished and the two contestants nodded. "Alright, then begin!"

Butch was the first to call out his pokemon. "Growlith, go!" he cried, releasing an orange and black striped pokemon from its pokeball. "Your turn." He said with a sneer at Ash.

"Alright!" Ash cried with his usual confidence, seemingly unaffected by Butch's hateful expression, and reached up to turn his hat around but when he failed to feel anything, he was confused. "Was I wearing a hat?" he asked Butch but when he saw him shake his head, he dismissed it as nothing. "Apalm, go!" he cried as well, releasing a purple monkey with a hand at the end of its tail.

"Since you're just a shrimp, you can have the first move." Butch sneered. "You're gonna need it."

"You'll regret this, but, Apalm swift!" he cried. The pokemon responded by shooting stars out of the hand on his tail at the growlith.

Butch called out, "Flame thrower." This prompted the little dog to unleash a fiery storm which incinerated the stars, but before growlith could counter attack, Ash had apalm on the move. Growlith turned around; trying futilely to see the monkey, but it was not to be. When Ash was sure that growlith would be unable to respond in time, he called out his attack.

"Now Apalm! Focus punch!" Apalm started running towards growlith's unprotected back, storing up energy in its tail as he went along. "Do it!" Ash cried as Apalm neared the growlith who was desperately trying to turn around. The apalm let out an incredible punch right on the head of the growlith.

"Growlith!" cried out Butch in alarm.

When the dust cleared, Apalm was the only pokemon left standing. "Grolith is unable to battle. Apalm wins!" cried the unnamed referee.

"Well that wasn't much of a challenge." said a disappointed Ash. "Apalm, return!" he called and a red light shot out from the pokeball and enveloped Apalm, returning it to where it came from. "You did great." he whispered to the pokeball. "Ready to give up yet?" he taunted.

"Hey kid," Butch replied, "who do you think you are?"

"I think that I'm the best trainer here." Ash was quick to respond, his mouth falling to habits that his mind had forgotten.

"You think so?" Butch asked mockingly but when Ash nodded, he became angry. "I'm going to knock that cocky little grin from your face permanently this time. Magmar, GO!" he called and released a red and yellow pokemon.

"If you're going to use magmar, then I'm going to use," he paused as he released what looked like a miniature dinosaur with a bulb on its back from its pokeball, "Bulbasaur!" he cried out its name. Ash looked as confident as ever at the matchup. "Go ahead, make the first move." Ash offered.

This offer just enraged Butch further. "There is absolutely NO way that that puny little _grass_ type can beat my _fire_ type magmar." If Ash doubted bulbasaur's chance of success, he didn't let it show but just kept smiling that cheeky little grin of his. If anything, this only served to enrage Butch more. "You aked for it!" he cried, his temper finally besting what little control he had. "Magmar, Flame Thrower!" The pokemon's eyes flashed red in acknowledgement as it stored up the energy required to unleash the stream of flame.

Ash was quick to react. "Bulbasaur, fire one round of razor leaf and then get behind it and use leach seed." Bulbasaur grunted in agreement and executed the move to perfection firing its leach seed into the nook under magmar's head after the razor leaves created an opening as well as a defense by blocking most of the flame. Some still got through but it was nothing that leach seed couldn't heal. Bolts of red light shot around magmar as an enormous amount of energy was drained. Ash realized that this was the perfect opportunity to end the battle quickly. You see, he saw the damage that bulbasaur took from the fire and didn't want to drag this out any longer than he had to. "Bulbasaur, finish it off quickly with tackle!" he cried. Bulbasaur complied willingly and within a matter of seconds, Butch's last pokemon was out of the battle.

The referee made the final call. "Magmar is unable to battle. The match goes to Ash and his bulbasaur!"

Butch was unable to believe what had happened as he called back the magmar, but Ash, by reflex, did his signature move with the peace sign. As he did the move, Ash felt an emptiness. He pondered that for a moment but put it from his mind when the bulbasaur rubbed against his leg. Ash knelt down to scratch its ears absentmindedly. Just then a messenger entered the room. "A message for Ash." Ash looked up. "You are to report to Giovanni's office immediately." Finished relaying the message, the messenger retreated from the room.

Ash shrugged. "Return bulbasaur." he called and bulbasaur was swallowed by the same red light that took apalm. With a nod of thanks to the referee, Ash left the room to respond to the summons.


	37. Chapter 37

Ash entered the office of Giovanni to receive the information he had been summoned for. He opened the door and stood to attention. "Reporting for duty father." he saluted.

Giovanni looked up from his paperwork and nodded. "At ease son." Ash relaxed. "Congratulations on winning that battle." Ash looked exhilarated at the praise. "I know that you must be tired after such a battle so go get lunch and some rest."

Sensing that he was dismissed, Ash bowed and headed for the cafeteria. The same hostility that he felt at breakfast greeted him again. Once more, there was no line to get food so he loaded his plate and went back out to his oak tree. This time, the teddyursa was waiting for him. When it saw him, it waved and motioned into with its paw to something in the woods. Ash sat down looking slightly puzzled but soon enough, a stantler walked out. Ash smiled and put his tray on the ground. "Take what you want, I have plenty." Feeling content just watching them eat, he took an apple and sat against the tree and fell asleep in its shade.

While he was asleep, he had another dream. This time he saw people. Ash felt like they knew him, though they had no faces. As they faded into the distance, a new form took their place. This shadowy figure filled Ash with the same emptiness he'd been feeling all day. The shape approached Ash and started licking his cheek. "Stop that." he murmured and the licking stopped but someone started nudging him instead. The shadowy figure faded and Ash groggily opened his eyes. As his vision swam back into focus, the first thing he saw was a stantler. Ash jerked upward in surprise forgetting that he fell asleep under a tree. "Ouch!" he cried as his head scraped against the tree's rough bark. While he rubbed his head, he looked around to view his companions. Crowded around the tree were many types of forest pokemon. There was the stantler that had awoken him, the teddyursa he had met first, a hoothoot, a zigzagoon, an oddish, and an ivysaur. Ash felt a sense of peace for the first time since he woke up that morning and just sat there with his new forest friends staring at the stars.


	38. Chapter 38

The routine was pretty much the same for the following week, with Ash having pokemon battles against increasingly difficult opponents and all of Ash's friends desperately trying to get help. Ash's schedule had grown increasingly hectic and soon the only relief that he felt came from the forest pokemon during mealtimes but it soon became apparent that these few little periods of rest were not enough when Ash collapsed during a battle one day. As Ash lay in the infirmary (yes even evil force headquarters have sick bays) Giovanni summoned the doctor about Ash's condition. "There is simply too much stress in the boy's life." the doctor answered when asked. "All of these battles are having a negative effect on the boy's physical and psychological well being." The doctor nervously fidgeted while he waited to see what type of response Giovanni would generate from his statement.

"What do you suggest be done?" asked the Boss.

The doctor, realizing that the danger was over, visibly relaxed. "Personally, I would say to stop the battles completely for one week but if that is out of the question, then limit one battle per every two days." Seeing the impassive look on Giovanni's face, the doctor felt compelled to continue. "And for one month, I would limit one battle a day after the first week to ensure a complete recovery." The doctor sighed, clearly pleased to have said that but he still had more to say. "I would also recommend giving him just a bit more free time; the boy seems to respond well to that." At this, the doctor was finally finished.

Giovanni sighed; this would push their plans back by at least two weeks but… "Very well, we have gotten what we need from my boy for now so he shall have his break." He turned to face the doctor. "When he wakes up, tell him that he can do what he likes for the rest of the day." Giovanni turned away again and the doctor bowed and left the room clearly pleased to have been able to give the bad news without a single punishment from his usually hot tempered boss. Though he was relieved, he was still confused. Why was the boy so important to Giovanni?


	39. Chapter 39

A soft rain was tapping against the window, covering the glass in a veil of water. Whenever two drops collided, they merged together and ran down the window, collecting more and more drops as it went along. There was a bed below this window, solid white sheets and a metal support. This bed matched the monotony of the room it was in perfectly with the other beds just like it, white curtains, white furniture, and white walls and floors that decorated the place. A single figure broke up the plane of white. Ash was sleeping on the bed under the window, but even in sleep, his face showed no signs of peace. His dreams were plagued by the memories that had been taken from him. This one, like so many others, began with a sense of loss, a yearning he couldn't explain. Always he saw a shadow, just out of view, waiting for him to get closer. He would always try, but it was as if his feet were chained to the floor, for he could never move. He saw the shadow's mouth open in a silent cry of despair and his heart would long to run over there and comfort the figure but this just made the tighter. Usually this was when he woke up but this time the dream went on. A voice sounded from all around him, an ancient voice full of wisdom and power. "You must remember," came the voice, chiming like crystal bells. "Remember and break the chains." The voice was getting farther, "Remember your friends, they will give you the power you need." At this statement the voice was almost a whisper for Ash was regaining consciousness. The voice had time for one more plea, "Remember who you are…"

Ash woke up with the memory of crystal bells still chiming in his ear and raindrops falling on his face. Groggily he opened his eyes and the first things he saw were two big brown eyes less than an inch away from his face. Ash gave a yelp of surprise and jumped back. The teddyursa that was sitting on his stomach tumbled to the floor. Ash laughed and picked up the unfortunate pokemon. "Are you okay?" he asked trying not to chuckle while asking a serious question. The teddyursa nodded and pointed towards the window. Staring down at him were two more eyes, these two belonged to the stantler he had made friends with before. The teddyursa and stantler had somehow managed to open the window and that was where the rain had gotten in from. The teddyursa pointed again and Ash understood what it wanted. "Alright, alright," he lifted the teddyursa up first and was about to follow when he remembered the bell-like voice. He knew it had been saying something but couldn't recall what. The braying of a stantler broke him out of his daydream. He looked up and his friends were looking worried. "Alright, alright, I'm coming," he said and started hoisting himself out the window. Once he was out he told the pokemon to lead hem where they will for he knew that they wanted something, and off they walked towards the forest.


End file.
